THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3595, 6 February 1923, Page 50

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

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PANQUIN

> Monday. Tlie feature act at the Princess’s to-night will bo Littlo Lorna, who will make a welcome re-appearance. Russell arid Frost, dancers, will also appear. Creighton, Wendy and Alphonse, the English patter comedians, Conway and Beecham, Eouie Duggan, Pat Doonan, and the Reece Sisters complete the roster. Messrs E. J. and Ban Carroll, in , association with Mr Thomas Quinlan announce a return season of the 10 celebrated soloists of the Sistine. Choir to visit the cities and tile various provincial centres of the Dominion. The local concerts will be limited to three programmes, and will be given in His Majesty’s Theatre, commencing Thursday next. The popular London revue artists, Lee \Ah,te and Clay SmiUi, together with J. ” “Bumson’s musical revue company, will present lor the first time on Monday next, at His Majesty’s Theatre, the successful London musical revue, “Bran Pie.” The company opened its Dominion tour in Weland scored an instanteous triumph. London's big musical comedy hit, “The Girl for the Boy” will be staged on the last two nights of the season. Signor Notariello, the young Italian tenor who toured New Zealand under the management of Messrs J. and N. Tait two years ago, has decided to reside permanently in Christchurch. Miss Vera Moore, the Dunedin, pianist, had a very enthusiastic reception when playing last week (writes our London correspondent on December 14) at Leighton House at the concert given by the Kensington Musical Club. She gave a very impressive and powerful interpretation of Cesar Franck’s Prelude, Chorale, and hugue, and as an encore was demanded she played a Chopin study. Miss Moore’s progress as a pianist has been very marked during the past 18 months, and she plays with great breadth and feeling. Miss Vida Wyatt, the young Dunedin amateur, has joined the professional ranks and is now a member of “Mother Goose” pantomime company in Australia. Exchanges from Melbourne state that Miss Edna Keeley was to re-appear there, after a long absence, in the Allen Doone production of “Lucky O’Shea” at the Gaiety Theatre. According to the biography of Caruso, just published, the famous tenor’s earnings m America totalled something like a million pounds. Lizette Parkes who was thought to have definitely retired from the stage, has been engaged to play the leading lady in “The Lady of My Dreams.” This play was staged up nortn bv the Bennison Company but was not presented in Dunedin. Presumably Miss Parkes takes the part played in New Zealand by Miss Bennett, - f O -™ 1 Maude who played the title role of Grumpy through New Zealand, has secured the American rights of the stage version of “If Winter Comes,” and will tour the States with the piece. Lawrence Grossmith is to play the part of Mark Sabre m Australia. Tile author book,, Mr A S. M. Hutchinson, said t have secured a large fortune from the stage rights of the book alone. His monetary return from the sale of the book itself must also represent a large sum of money. Joe Brennan, the ex-Dimedinite, is now playing Dame in the J. C. Williamson production of “The Forty Thieves” in Melbourne, ard is, moreover, making- a bi«success in the part His performance is said to be entirely devoid of boisterous low comedy, and, as one critic puts it, he is funny without being too extravagant, Mr Brennan, as I have before recorded, is the first New Zealand-born “dame” of a J C W pantomime. n ° n Asche is < shortly to produce for J. L. Williamson “A Southern Maid ” the successor to “The Maid of the Mountains.” the production will first be put on in Melbourne. Oscar Asche produced both the=e comic operas in London. Miss Gladys Moncrief will play the title role in the new production. Miss Betty Lingard, an EnglisH musical comedy star, who aDoearcd in the London production of the piece will play the English girl who serves as a foil to Dolores. Claude Flemming, A. HowettWcrster, Arthur Stigant, and others also appear in the cast. It is likely that the much-discussed novel “Simon Called Peter” will first see the light as a play on the Australian stage. Negotiations are now being carried out between Robert Keable, the author, and an Australian theatrical firm for the dramatisation of the book. Lawrence Grossmith may play the principal part. Miss Nellie Dean, the only daughter of Mr George Dean, the well-known vaudeville performer is with the “Bran Pie” Company, which will be here next week. Miss Dean’s mother was for over 12 years a prominent member of J. C. Williamson’s Opera Company, and was known as Miss Ethel Gwynne. Appearance for eight years as the toymaker in the comic opera “La Poupee” was a remarkable record held by Mr Eric Thorne, an English comedian, best known in the provinces, who died recently.

Miss Vera James, the young Dunedin theatrical and picture artist, is at present in Los Angeles, and it appears that she is likely to bring fame to herself and her home town by her success in the pictures. Miss James, it wjill be remembered, appeared on the local amateur stage a year or two ag/' and then went to Sydney, where she in success in revue with the company headed by Miss Lee White and Clay Smith. These* two popular artists, it is interesting to note, are to play in Dunedin next week in the revue “Bran Pie.” Miss James, however, had set her heart on the pictures, and, despite the many requests that she should stay on in revue, she decided to take the opportunity of playing leading parts in two Australian productions—“A Girl of tl«> Bush” and a. problem play “Know Thy Child.” Miss James came over to Dunedin last year on a visit to her parents, and almost twelve months ago to the day she sailed from Wellington to try her fortunes in Los Angeles. The slump was on when she arrived in the world-famous picture town, and many of the producing houses were temporarily shut down. Things pictorially have, however, improved considerably since March, 1920. Miss James ssoon discovered, as many other artists who have gone to Los Angeles to seek fame and fortune have discovered, that it is no easy matter to get an engagement, even of a minor character. But she had the good luck to meet Mr Stewart Paton, one of the Universal neople’s directors, and he agreed to give her a try out. No less than 400 ft of film was exposed with the object alone of obtaining Miss James’s facial expressions. Next day the film was screened, and the result was so satisfactory that Miss James at once secured an engagement to play in a Russian drama “The Attic of Felix Vevau.” The producing of pictures on a large scale is, of course, a great industrial and artistic effort. The “city,” as it is called, of a big producing company, is to a large extent self-contained. It has its own post and telegraph offices, its own telephone bureau, its own eating houses, etc. Then, again, when a big picture is boing filmed many stages are being used at the same time, each representing some part of the story. Directors inspect and report on each phase of the staging from day to day. Could anything - be more satisfying to a young artist with her foot on the ladder of artistic fame than a report such as this? This particular director reports, inter alia:—“The days honour goes to a young woman. I believe she is a Miss James, and I understand she is a newcomer in American films. If it were possible to claim this as the work of Pauline Frederick, nothing in this young woman’s action would betray the deception. Curiously enough, Miss James also looks like Miss Frederick.” The director drew further comparisons between the work of Miss Frederick and Miss James, comparisons which mu3t have been read with the greatest pleasure by the dainty ex-Dunedin artist. Miss James’s successes on the Los Angeles picture stage will be read with the keenest satisfaction by her many frien4s, and also by the friends of her popular father, Mr W. F. James, the w T ell-known totalisator proprietor. In spile of precautions taken by theatrical managers when engaging girls to go to India, the leakage by marriage still continues apparently (says Melbourne Table Talk). Anyhow, Gladys Baker, who went away with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, has seceded from its ranks to become the wife of Dr E. Nulford Rice. The marriage took place at St. Thomas’s Church, Calcutta, and was celebrated by" Canon Parker. Mrs Rice is a daughter of Walter Baker, who for so many years was a matinee idol when he was leading man to the Bland Holt Company. He is still president of the Actors’ Federation of Australia. The man she has married is an American surgeon and Director of Consolidated Agencies in Calcutta. The East has been so thoroughly ransacked by theatrical producers during recent years that one might have expected the fount of inspiration to run drv: but in the new play “East cf Suez,” lately produced in London, a new opening has been shewn in the introduction of national music and musicians (says the Australasian). The writer of the play, Mr Somerset Maugham, has been fortunate in obtaining the collaboration of Eugene Goossens, the most conspicuous figure among modern Biitish musicians. As a brilliant and original composer, and a really remarkable conductor, he has already acquired an international reputation, and the writing of the incidental music for “East of Suez provides him with a subject after bis own heart. To create the effect of lack of harmony between East and West (which is the 'theme of the play) he combines a E-uropean orchestra in the theatre with a Chinese band performing on Chinese instiuments on the stage—playing sometimes alternately, sometimes together. When the twain meet the combination is often deafening, and always bizarre, and in the last act’ two Chinese band 3 perform on the stage one composed entirely of wind instruments and the other of percussion and strings. It is some consolation to hear that Goossens has the humanity to prevent the two Chinese bands playing sinmltune ously.